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Fire, Conch Shell, And The Beast In Lord Of The Flies

953 Words4 Pages

Will Schoenberger
Rotation 7
Existentialism
Mid Term Paper (Lord Of the Flies)

The Signal Fire, Conch shell, and the Beast in “Lord of The Flies” are the most important, meaningful symbols in the book that most closely relate to the entirety of the book’s meaning. Throughout “Lord Of the Flies” there have been many symbolic items, gestures, and people. Symbolism is really the main purpose of the book. Lord of The Flies tries to symbolize human nature, including the civilization and savagery that goes along with it, as well as diplomacy (amongst other things) in a simpler way. Among all of the Items, people, and gestures that contain symbols, the Fire, conch shell and Beast most closely relate to the main point of the book and Human nature …show more content…

The signal fire burns on the mountain, and later on the beach, to attract passing ships that might be able to save the boys. Because of this, the signal fire becomes a bacon of the boys’ hope, and their last connection to civilization before the primal laws of human nature are tested. The signal fire really acts as a kind of measurement of the strength of the civilized thinking remaining on the island. In the early parts of the novel, the fact that the boys maintain the fire is a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society. When the fire starts to burn low or goes out, the boys lose sight of their desire to be rescued and have basically accepted their savage lives on the island. Ironically, at the end of the novel, a fire finally attracts a ship to the island, but it wasn't the signal fire. Instead it is the fire fueled by savagery, the forest fire Jack’s followers start as part of the quest to hunt and kill …show more content…

The imaginary beast that frightens all the boys stands for the savagery that exists with all people. The boys are afraid of the beast. However only Simon realizes that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. As civilization exists the island life and savagery replaces it, their belief in the beast grows stronger. By the end of the book, the boys are leaving it sacrifices such as the pig head. Each one of the boys truly becomes the beast as they try to kill Ralph. Their behavior is what brings the beast into existence, so the more savagely the boys act, the more real the beast seems to

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This symbol is evident from the beginning: when the boys use Piggy’s glasses lenses to focus sunlight and create a fire. When Jack’s hunters steal the glasses, the savages take their power to make fire, leaving Ralph’s group without help. The Conch Shell- It’s a symbol of civilization that governs the boys’ meetings (who holds the shell can speak), political validity and democratic rule.

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In William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies, the reader comprehends symbols that go throughout the book. These symbols are key factors which determine the importance of the novel. The symbols are a very important part of the literary content. In order to really follow along and understand the story, the reader must understand these symbols for what they mean as well as how they are used. Some of the symbols include the conch, the island itself, and fire.

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I think that the signal fire represents the boys on the island saving out in hope that they will eventually be rescued. Jack and the others stop caring so much because I think they believe they will be there forever but Ralph cares so much about it. He is scared of being on the island forever so he focuses so much on the fire in hope of being saved. “They let the bloody fire out.” (pg.71)

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Imagine being stranded on island with a bunch of strangers and no possessions. Having to leave your old life, family, and civilization all behind. Just imagine. Meanwhile, In William Golding’s novel,  he  uses symbolism to tell the allegory of a few boys whose flight crashed into a deserted island in which they were left to fend for themselves. In the novel Ralph and the fire both connect to the theme that Golding references as a good vs evil where evil ultimately overtakes humanity.

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In the book, The Lord of the Flies, the boys debate on whether the beast is real or not. The irony throughout the book is based on how the boys are so terrified of there being a fictitious monster on the island that they do not realize that they are the monsters themselves. As the boys begin to act more savagely, their belief of the existence of the beast becomes stronger. Throughout the book, it is clear that the boys are, in fact, the real beast, as evidenced by the spreading hatred, the sexual assaults, and violence. To begin with, the boys’ hatred towards one another grows stronger as the novel progresses, which portrays them as the real beast on the island.

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The beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (152) demonstrates that the fear of the beast controlled the boys, and influenced them to kill Simon.

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A gorgeous island rises from the foaming sea, the leaves of its deep green palms dancing in the wind. A mountainous monument, teeming with life and pure, uncontaminated beauty; it symbolizes the purity of nature and peaceful, repetitive rhythms of life that mother nature muses herself with. Over the course of a few months this island of life is reduced to a charred layering of soot and ash. This inhumane destruction is forged from the hands of men; men with peaceful intentions of survival and life themselves. Yet even these harmless ventures were able to yield a gloomy, blackened result.

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William Golding uses many symbols in his novel The Lord of the Flies to create interaction between his characters. Golding’s characters are stranded on an island and one of their first decisions is to build a fire that will be used for creating a smoke signal for passing ships. Golding uses fire to symbolize three things in The Lord of The Flies: hope, struggle, and destruction. To begin with, Golding’s representation of fire as a necessity of hope to being rescued is an aspect that is easily conceivable to the reader, and this is purely demonstrated in the dialogue between several of his characters. During the first meeting the boys decide that they must have a fire in order to signal to passing ships that someone is on the island.

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The first, and most simple, thing that fire symbolizes in survival. If the boys wanted to survive, they were going to need to cook some food; so that is what they did. Of course they could find food that they didn’t necessarily have to cook, but fire would enhance their diet. When Jack and the Hunters kill the sow and decapitated it, they realized that they didn’t have any fire because they had just split off from Ralph’s group. They decided to raid Ralph’s beach and steal some fire.

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Throughout The Lord of Flies, symbolism used frequently allows the reader to form a strong connection between objects and their symbols. William Golding represents simple objects in a complex way by giving them many real world symbolic meanings. The conch shell became one of the most important symbols because it called the boys together and was a prized possession amongst the island. The lord of flies was an important symbol because it led Simon to a grave but crucial discovery about the evil present on the island(Golding,137). Small but significant symbols such as glasses were utilized frequently amongst the group, to ensure their survival.

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Pre-AP 19 September 2015 Lord of the Flies Double-Entry Journal Chapter One: Term Identified Direct Quote Analysis Simile and Imagery “Out there, perhaps a mile away, the white surf flinked on a coral reef and beyond that the open sea was dark blue. Within the irregular arc of the coral the lagoon was still as a mountain lake- blue of all shades and shadowy green and purple.” (Golding 10). The use of imagery can greatly help the way a person comprehends a book. Using both simile and imagery at the beginning of this book is important because it develops a solid image and understanding of the setting.

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In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, there are many symbolic concepts within the novel such as the beast, and the pigs head. Golding uses these concepts to portray to the reader his idea that when humans are left without rules or organisation they will break from a civilised manner and become savages allowing evil to over take them. One of the most important symbols used to help the reader understand Golding's idea is the beast. Many of the boys believe their is a beast on the island and become fearful.

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Being on the island everyone is contsantly faced with the fear of the unknown the younger boys need someone to protect them from the fears on the island. Although nothing manages to scare the boys as much as the beastie does. When a little boy with a mullberry birthmark informs everyone that he has seen a beastie. The older boys emitiatly belive its his imagination but even later in the novel the boys start to question the exsitance of the beast. After the killing of simion, jack is belives ut was simon disguised as the beast, and that the beast is not dead.

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The message of inner evil is portrayed throughout the book by the destruction of the conch, terrifying beast, and character developments to establish the hidden message throughout the novel. For instance, at the beginning of the novel, the conch symbolized order and power.

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